"The Worst" is a song by American hip hop groups

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...

and

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

. It was released on December 23, 1997 by

Tommy Boy ''Tommy Boy'' is a 1995 American buddy adventure comedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, produced by Lorne Michaels, and starring former ''Saturday Night Live'' castmates and close friends Chris Farley and Davi ...

as a single from

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital U ...

's ''

Ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicen ...

'' and as the first single from Onyx's third album, '' Shut 'Em Down''. Onyx is represented by

Fredro Starr Fred Lee Scruggs Jr. (born April 18, 1971), better known by his stage name Fredro Starr, is an American rapper and actor best known as a member of the hardcore rap group Onyx. Fredro Starr was discovered by the late hip hop star Jam Master Jay of ...

Sonny Seeza Tyrone Taylor (born November 13, 1970), better known by his stage name Sonny Seeza, or previously as Suavé and Sonsee, is an American hardcore rapper, record producer, DJ, actor, best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx. ...

and

Sticky Fingaz Kirk Jones (born November 3, 1973), better known by his stage name Sticky Fingaz, is an American hardcore rapper, record producer, and actor best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx. Sticky Fingaz was discovered by Jam ...

, as well as affiliate X1. Wu-Tang Clan is represented by

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...

, as well as affiliate

Killa Sin Jeryl Grant (born April 2, 1976) better known by his stage name Killa Sin is considered the best-known member of Killarmy and is regarded as one of the most skilled Wu-Tang Clan affiliates. Biography ''Killa Sin'' has appeared on gold and plat ...

. "The Worst" was a minor hit, making it to three different Billboard charts.

Background

The song appeared on the ''

'' soundtrack.

and

also starred in this movie "

", which was originally called "I-95". In February 1998, in an interview for

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, Sticky Fingaz told about collaborating with Wu-Tang:

"...It was a collaboration. It's about the worst of the worst, meaning the best. We're the worst nightmare for everyone in hip-hop. When we recording this song in the studio all night, Meth said that he wouldn't leave the studio until this track will be done".

In February 1998, song was also included in a

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

's promo release ''Shut 'Em Down (Exclusive Advance)'' under the name "Onyx vs. Wu-Tang".

Music video

The music video was directed by

Diane Martel Diane Martel (also known as Bucky Chrome) is an American music video director and choreographer. Awards Diane Martel was nominated for the Video of the Year for her work in "Blurred Lines" – Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I. in 2013. Film ...

and depicts a post-apocalyptic world where rap is banned. The video was filmed in

Chinatown, Manhattan Manhattan's Chinatown () is a Neighborhoods in Manhattan, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering the Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy, Manhattan, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center to its ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, including shooting in a restaurant ''Ipoh Garden Malaysian Chinese'', and was released on " The BOX" on March 14, 1998. The video can be found on the 2008's DVD ''Onyx: 15 Years Of Videos, History And Violence''.

Track listing

A-Side: #"The Worst" (radio edit) – 4:55 #"The Worst" (instrumental) – 5:37 B-Side: #"The Worst" (album version) – 5:34 #"The Worst" (instrumental) – 5:37

Samples

*"Up Against the Wall" by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

*"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" by

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

and

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and telev ...

*"Protect Ya Neck" by

*"Step to the Rear" by

Brand Nubian Brand Nubian is an American hip hop group from New Rochelle, New York, composed of three emcees (Grand Puba, Sadat X and Lord Jamar), and formerly three DJs (DJ Alamo, DJ Sincere, and DJ Stud Doogie). Their debut studio album, '' One for All'' ...

*"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" by

and

Sally Ann Howes Sally Ann Howes (20 July 1930 – 19 December 2021) was an English actress and singer. Her career on screen, stage and television spanned six decades. She is best known for the role of Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film ''Chitty Chitt ...

Personnel

* Onyx - performer, vocals * Fredro Starr - performer, vocals * Sticky Fingaz - performer, vocals * Sonny Seeza - performer, vocals * X1 - performer, vocals * Method Man - performer, vocals * Raekwon - performer, vocals * Killa Sin - performer, vocals * Latief - producer * Don Elliott - engineer, mixing * DJ LS One - additional mix engineer, scratches

Charts

References

External links

The Worst at RapGeniusThe Worst at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worst, The 1998 singles Onyx (group) songs Wu-Tang Clan songs Songs written by Method Man 1997 songs Tommy Boy Records singles Posse cuts Songs written by Raekwon Music videos directed by Diane Martel